I am crushed

[DrWorkNeverDone]

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🙁 no letter of rec from that doc i thought i would get one from. Said that he only does letters of rec to students who have done research for him...sigh...that would have been a nice one to have....so now my next question.

Do you think that getting a letter of rec from one of the nurses in the ER would be good? Only cause the doc told me that most of the docs won't write one either unless I have done research for them. Thanks!

 

[dopaminophile]

🙁 no letter of rec from that doc i thought i would get one from. Said that he only does letters of rec to students who have done research for him...sigh...that would have been a nice one to have....so now my next question.

Do you think that getting a letter of rec from one of the nurses in the ER would be good? Only cause the doc told me that most of the docs won't write one either unless I have done research for them. Thanks!

What a punk. I'd talk to the nurses if they know you well enough. I used an audiologist that I worked for and it was the only one that was brought up in any of my interviews. The kicker though is that they need to know you well so that they can speak to specific aspects of your personality of examples of your actions.

all the best,

-dope-

 

[AStudent]

I had a L.O.R from a PT. You don't absolutely need one from a doc (unless you're doing some D.O. schools).

 

[DrWorkNeverDone]

What a punk. I'd talk to the nurses if they know you well enough. I used an audiologist that I worked for and it was the only one that was brought up in any of my interviews. The kicker though is that they need to know you well so that they can speak to specific aspects of your personality of examples of your actions.

all the best,

-dope-

YYeah there is one, she knows me pretty well, even said she missed me when I had to go over the summer for my internship. Gave me a big hug heheh...I just don't understand though, I mean this doc and me talk all the time...oh well,,,the sad thing is I have to see this doc tonight, he was suppose (or is) going to give me my first pair of scrubs 🙁 I don't know if I want to see him

 

[Uegis]

Don't let this deter you from trying to ask a doctor for a letter. Most, especially if they know you well, will write one. He seems to be out of the norm. Better yet, set up a mentorship or shadowing sessions with a doctor. Might give them a better chance to know you personally.

Also, you can sign up for EMRAP and do research at the UCDMC ER. It's pretty easy to get a position and you get clinical research experience while you're at it. And maybe then, he'll write you a LOR. Good luck!

 

[Mutterkuchen]

It could be that this was his excuse not to write a letter. Maybe he did not want to write a good one. Consider yourself lucky. It is better to have someone decline to write a letter for your, than to write you a bad one!

Seriously.

 

[SanDiegoSOD]

Don't be crushed - he was simply following a personal policy. Don't take it personally!

 

[doc05]

I wouldn't recommend a letter from a nurse unless she's one of the rare PhD nurses out there. nothing against nurses, mind you, but a LOR from an RN won't carry much weight.

 

[stoic]

I wouldn't recommend a letter from a nurse unless she's one of the rare PhD nurses out there. nothing against nurses, mind you, but a LOR from an RN won't carry much weight.

i agree. you really would be better of with a physician letter. try to set up some more shadowing with different physicians and then ask them for recs.

good luck,
s

 

[PostalWookie]

But apaprently a lot of profs have a policy like that. I had a guy turn me down after he gave me an A+ for the same reason.

 

[Siggy]

Now does the nurse's position matter? For example, would a LOR from a charge nurse be worth more then, what most people consider, a useless one from an RN. I'm getting one from the charge nurse at the ER that I volunteer in, but I'm not applying this June, but next so I have plety of time to get more LORs and might just decide that I won't use her's.

 

[doc05]

nurse's position? as I said, if she's a PhD academic then it should be fine (this would be the case if you're a nurse applying to med school; or maybe did research with her).

a charge nurse? still an RN, just a little more experienced than the rest of the nurses on the ward. is she work your supervisor? if you're just a volunteer I would strongly caution against getting any letters from a nurse.

even letters from physicians in private practice may not be the best move. unless the physician holds an academic title within a medical school, or is personally known by members of a given admissions committee, the letter won't hold much weight. nonetheless, the letters "MD" still help somewhat.

I would recommend getting all your letters from people in academia (professors), unless you have had substantial life experience (a real job, etc). but a letter from your volunteer experience (unless something substantial like peace corps, etc) is not particularly helpful.

best of luck.

 

[dopaminophile]

I disagree strongly. Like I said before, one of my strong recommendations is from an audiologist (a master's level position) at a community hospital. The critical factor is how well the person knows you in the capacity that you are trying to represent through the recommendation. You should have roughly two academic recs (PhDs for sure) and two clinical recs (preferably docs but PAs, RNs, or MAs if they know you well in a clinical capacity). It might be wise to have a third academic rec.

I really do feel that the nurse would be good if she knows you well. Make sure she's well-spoken and reasonably well educated. Maybe look at her nurse's notes to see if her grammar is reasonable (if it's appropriate of course.) If she can state your case eloquently, then it'll be great.

all the best,

-dope-

 

[Fermata]

They make you do lab work since it is the equivalent of slavery.

The least they can do then is to write you a LOR.

 

[foobear]

I wouldn't give up yet. I know he has a "personal policy" but if you're on good terms with him, maybe you can ask him advice about whether or not the nurse (I'm assuming its the same job) would be a good option and talk to him honestly about really wanting a recommendation that would represent the work you're doing for this job. He might suddenly remember how hard it was when he applied the medical school himself and break his stupid policy. If he doesn't bite, ask him if there is any research he is doing that you could help him with. That way, you'll have a research job and you'll get a rec that would be strong because you got someone who know you from both the clinical and research side.

 

[newhavenjake]

It's just a stupid letter guys. If that crushed you, what will you feel when a patient dies right in front of you?

It's just an application.

 

[chopper]

I wouldn't recommend a letter from a nurse unless she's one of the rare PhD nurses out there. nothing against nurses, mind you, but a LOR from an RN won't carry much weight.

My only clinical letter of Rec was from a regular old RN, and I've had no problem with acceptances to some really good schools. I was told by all my advisors that I should get a doctor's letter, but I didn't know any well enough to ask at the time of application.

All things being equal, I agree that an MD letter outweighs an RN letter. But I also think a glowing letter from an RN is better than a so-so letter from an MD.

Good luck

 

[DrWorkNeverDone]

It's just a stupid letter guys. If that crushed you, what will you feel when a patient dies right in front of you?

It's just an application.

Okay, I have seen patients die, and it doesn't crush me. It is not JUST an application..This is a lot of money, time, stress, application. It deserves the best attention, and the best letters of rec you can get for it.

As for the RN issue, I talked to a couple of the RN's last night about my situation and they were really surprised. A couple of the nurses have offered to write one, and if I don't get the "MD" I will go for the next best thing.

I understand though that an MD weighs way more than RN....And the RN's gave me advice on a couple other docs I can ask

As for EMRAP, yeah I planned on applying next quarter. My stats are not the highest right now though. My UCD stats are great 🙂 but my overall sucks.

Thanks for all the advice! I felt a whole lot better last night, after the shift 🙂 I had a sophmore volunteer there last night that I was talking about all the medical equipment and such. She made me feel like a genius 😳 even though I know I don't even know half of what I will know 🙂

 

[icecream4me]

Okay, I have seen patients die, and it doesn't crush me. It is not JUST an application..This is a lot of money, time, stress, application. It deserves the best attention, and the best letters of rec you can get for it.

As for the RN issue, I talked to a couple of the RN's last night about my situation and they were really surprised. A couple of the nurses have offered to write one, and if I don't get the "MD" I will go for the next best thing.

I understand though that an MD weighs way more than RN....And the RN's gave me advice on a couple other docs I can ask

As for EMRAP, yeah I planned on applying next quarter. My stats are not the highest right now though. My UCD stats are great 🙂 but my overall sucks.

Thanks for all the advice! I felt a whole lot better last night, after the shift 🙂 I had a sophmore volunteer there last night that I was talking about all the medical equipment and such. She made me feel like a genius 😳 even though I know I don't even know half of what I will know 🙂

Hey! First of all, I totally understand your POV about this application process; you deserve to get every aspect satisfied to your desire since you are spending so much time, money, and energy on this.

Secondly, I'm sure that you are getting multiple recs from people (at least 3 is what schools recommend, I believe, unless you have a preprof committee) and I would suggest that at least one or two of those be from MDs. However, I have heard straight from some adcom people that an excellent letter from a non-MD is better than a so-so letter from a MD; in fact, he gave us the ex of some guy who got a letter from a nun that he worked with. I personally had a couple of recs from the secretaries that worked on the floor of the hospital that I volunteered in; they gave me handwritten recs and I was so grateful since that obviously showed their willingness to go out of their way significantly and write me a rec.

Hope this helps! 🙂